North Country Trail: Croton Dam to Oak Drive

North Country Trail: Croton Dam to Oak Drive is a 3.7 mile lightly trafficked point-to-point trail located near Croton, Michigan that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail.

DISTANCE

3.7 miles

ELEVATION GAIN

160 feet

ROUTE TYPE

Point to Point

dog friendly

kid friendly

backpacking

camping

hiking

trail running

walking

forest

river

views

wild flowers

wildlife

private property

This trail may be walked point-to-point or out and back. Plentiful parking is available in Kimble County Park at the NCT Trailhead. Trail is primarily packed earth and gravel. Most of the elevation gain is in the section heading north of the Muskegon River. Terrain is mostly flat the rest of the way. Trail passes through many different ecological zones from riparian to deep woods to open fields to pine plantation. Quiet walkers will see plenty of wildlife.

Really nice trail, clear of most debris and well marked even when intersecting with other trails. Note that the 3.7 Mile distance is one way! I didn’t read the description well enough and thought it was 3.7 total (out and back).

Trail is well marked and maintained. Had a slight but working cell signal which allowed google maps to track me. Although I couldn’t get the All trails app to work while out there. Lots of areas that post private property signs which made picking a campsite a bit more tricky. Hiked five miles in and setup camp just east of Poplar ave. Was hoping to camp near Crofoot Lake but too many private property signs were littering the area so I doubled back. Did this hike the second week of November and honestly I think it would have been a bit better to go a bit earlier in the season. Most of the leaves had already fallen from the trees. Still a beautiful hike though and will definitely be back.

This is usually the first hike I do every spring, great hike to start the season

Joseph F.

hiking

11 months ago

We hiked this section out-and-back with a small group. The terrain was moderate with no obstructions. The entire section is off-road, including the straight section which looks like a road. This section is between two parcels of private property and is being graciously provided by the owners so please be respectful.